Helmet with rotatable faceguard

ABSTRACT

A sports helmet having a faceguard is attached to a shell such that the faceguard is rotatable about the circumference of the shell so as to reduce the possibility of head and neck injury caused by blunt and torsion forces being transferred to the shell from impacts on the faceguard.

This non-provisional application claims the benefit of provisional application No. 62/929,096 filed Oct. 31, 2019.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to protective sports equipment, and it is specifically directed to an improved sports helmet having a design in which the faceguard is rotatable, relative to the shell, so as to reduce the possibility of head and neck injury caused by impact and torsion forces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The notion of using a helmet to protect the head from injury that may, otherwise, occur during participation in various recreational and sports activities has been observed for centuries. Of course, the technology and engineering embodied in helmets has dramatically advanced over the ages. For example, in the sport of American football, helmets were introduced in the early 1900s. These early helmets were constructed entirely of leather. While reducing the risk of lacerative injuries to the head, they offered little protection from blunt force trauma and absolutely no facial protection. Later, the more rigid plastic shelled helmet with interior padding and faceguard was developed to provide better protection from impact forces. That came into vogue by the 1940s and has been continuously improved, in terms of comfort and safety, ever since.

In more recent years, with discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and its correlation to repetitive head trauma sustained in contact sports like football, the prior art has advanced to produce football helmets which are improved, in their configurations, so as to exhibit greater abilities to absorb impact forces against the shell of the helmet without transferring much of the corresponding energy to the skull and brain enclosed within it. One way in which they have improved is with respect to the padding systems that are disposed within the shell and provide a cushioned barrier between helmet shell and wearer skull. Another way in which they have improved is regarding the configuration of the shell itself, and an example of that is found in U.S. Pat. No. 9,987,544 to Sodec, Jr. (“Sodec”).

Sodec discloses a football helmet having an inner shell of hollow hemispherical shape and an outer shell of hollow hemispherical shape that fits over and is rotatable relative to that inner shell. The shells are connected by a bolt assembly such that a small air gap separates them. Presumably, the outer shell of the Sodec helmet is rotatable so that impacts to the helmet shell from anything other than true perpendicular force vectors cause the shell to rotate and dissipate energy, rather than absorb and transfer that energy toward the head and, potentially, cause brain injury. That shell rotation also prevents those impacts from exerting torque on the head and causing the head to act as a fulcrum with the neck and body being urged to bend around it. That phenomenon can cause significant head and/or neck injury. Nevertheless, despite this and other safety improvements to football helmets which diminish the negative effects of impacts to the shell of the helmet, there is not as much advancement in helmet design relative to the effects of similar impacts to the faceguard of the football helmet.

Consequently, the present inventor appreciates a need for an improved helmet that is configured so that, upon a significant impact to the faceguard portion of the helmet, both: (1) impact forces are redirected away from the brain; and (2) torque is inhibited from being applied to the head. And while the present inventor most acutely appreciates that need in the context of football helmets, he also appreciates the need for the distinctive structural principles of such an improved helmet to be translatable, more broadly, to structural designs for other sports helmets which possess faceguards, such as those used in hockey, lacrosse, etc. The present invention for a helmet having a rotatable faceguard substantially fulfills this need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sports helmet, having shell and faceguard components, in which the faceguard can be rotated horizontally (circumferentially) relative to the shell.

In one aspect of the inventive helmet, it features a shell formed by a crown portion and two opposing side portions, as well as a faceguard which encircles the shell and provides a protective barrier over the open face of the shell. Rather than being attached to the shell in a fixed position, like traditional helmet faceguards are, the present faceguard is attached by way of its positioning within one or more grooves, or guide channels, formed along the outer surface of the respective shell side portions and configured to correspond with the circular profile of the faceguard such that the faceguard can circulate within the channel(s).

It is another object of the invention to provide a sports helmet which deflects most impact forces so as to both reduce the amount of energy absorbed the wearer's head and reduce the amount of torque applied to the head and neck by impacts to the faceguard that, if was not rotatable relative to the shell, would act as a moment arm.

In another aspect of the present helmet, when a significant force is applied to the faceguard, the faceguard gives way in rotating around the shell, rather than transferring a great share of that force into the shell (and, ultimately, the head) and/or creating a significant moment about the head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front-right elevational view of a football helmet in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the same.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure, as defined by the claims that follow, relates to a sports helmet 10 that is principally formed by a shell component 20 and a faceguard (or “facemask”) component 30. In the descriptions that follow, the invention will be described narrowly in its various football-type helmet embodiments, but it should be understood that alternative embodiments adapted for use in other sports and recreational activities (e.g., hockey, lacrosse, etc.) are contemplated within the scope of the invention.

Although not the particular focus of the present invention, within the scope of the invention, it is assumed that the shell 20 is fabricated of conventional helmet shell material, is configured in a generally conventional manner (although, it may tend to have a more, if not entirely, hemispherical profile—moreso than is true of most conventional helmet shell designs) and is interiorly padded in a conventional manner such that highly desirable properties for both comfort and shock absorption are achieved.

The faceguard 30 is assumed to also be fabricated of conventional, rigid, football faceguard materials and, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, may feature the various combinations of crossbars and vertical bars typically found in conventional football faceguards. However, for safety purposes, in some embodiments of the invention, the faceguard 30 (at least its vertical extending bars) is overlaid by a semi-rigid, translucent shield (not shown) to prevent, for example, a competitor's fingers from being caught in and injuriously jammed or even sheared between the facial rim of the shell and a horizontally rotating faceguard.

Referring back to the shell 20, it is characterized by having two side regions 26, 28 that, collectively, cover the right and left sides (including the entire rear) of the wearer's head, as well as a crown region 24 that covers the top of the head. As with all football helmets, the facial region of the shell 20 is open, and facial protection is provided by the separate faceguard 30 component.

In one preferred embodiment of the helmet 10, the shell 20 is profiled similarly to other conventional football helmets (i.e., non-hemispherical), while the faceguard 30 is a circular closed ring. In this embodiment, since the shell 20 does not have a perfectly circular cross-section, much of the right and left side portions of the shell 26, 28 are not in contact with the faceguard 30. Instead, the faceguard fits and circulates within: (1) a first guide channel 22 formed along the adjacent rear ends of the right and left side shell portions 26, 28 (i.e., where the sides meet); and (2) an opposing pair of guide channels 22 formed along the respective front ends of the shell sides 26, 28 (i.e., adjacent the right and left rims of the facial opening of the shell)—all of these channels 22 being positioned along an imaginary circle.

These guide channels 22 are, preferably, defined by grooves that are formed within the shell material and that may have ball bearings within them (not shown; these ball bearings being affixed to the shell) to facilitate lower friction sliding of the faceguard 30 within the grooves. However, alternatively, the guide channels 22 could be formed by tunnel-like enclosures formed within the shell wall. And in another alternative, the shell 20 could have a perfectly hemispherical cross-section, at least along its equatorial line, such that one continuous guide channel 22—be it an impression formed along or a tunnel formed within the shell 20—exists around the entire circumference of the shell 20.

Whatever the specific configurations of the guide channel(s) 22 and shell 20, the important point is that they should be cooperatively configured such that the faceguard 30 is travelable along/within the guide channel(s) 20. It is anticipated that the faceguard 30 will be oriented so that it circulates along a horizontal plane when the helmet 10 is being worn by a user standing perfectly upright (i.e., that the faceguard 30 travels rightward and/or leftward about the shell's open face area and circumference). However, that plane of orientation might be a somewhat diagonal (i.e., primarily horizontal, but with some degree of verticality). In any event, for simplicity, this disclosure shall refer to the faceguard 30 as rotating “horizontally” even though it is understood that it may be substantially, not purely, horizontally.

The faceguard 30 is, preferably, characterized by a parallel, horizontal pair of crossbars that may be connected by at least one vertically extending bar, but unlike the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, can be devoid of any vertical bars. Irrespective of the presence of vertical bars, as was previously mentioned, there may be a translucent shield (not shown) much like, if not identical to, the conventional helmet visor component that is fabricated of polycarbonate material.

Again, the shell's guide channel(s) 22 are for receiving the circular cross-sectioned crossbars of the faceguard 30 so that the faceguard 30 and shell 20 remain connected by virtue of their either continuous engagement around the entire circumference of the shell 20 or their engagement along discrete segments of the shell's circumference (when the shell's cross-section is not circular along an equatorial line).

In any case, regardless of the particulars of the respective shell 20 and faceguard 30 configurations, it should be reiterated that the most important characteristic of the present invention is that, when the faceguard 30 is impacted in an at least somewhat glancing fashion, the faceguard 30 is able to rotate, relative to the shell 20—thereby, translating a substantial portion of the impact force around the perimeter of the shell 20, rather than directing that force more centrally toward the helmet wearer's skull.

The level of friction and freedom of rotation between the faceguard 30 and guide channel(s) 22 can vary, but it is anticipated that this will not be a substantially frictionless engagement and that a somewhat significant force to the faceguard 30 will be required to impart faceguard rotation—even when bearings are embedded within the channel(s) 22. For example, in another embodiment of the invention, the faceguard 30 is not a fully closed ring and does not wrap around the entire circumference of the shell 20. Rather, the faceguard 30 has a rear opening formed by it having right and left ends, giving it a somewhat horseshoe profile. In this embodiment, the shell 20 may have coil spring assemblies (not shown) positioned at the respective rear ends of the right side 26 and left side 28 of the shell 20 (within the guide track 22) that abut the ends of the faceguard and that bias a leftward or rightward rotated faceguard 30 back toward an unrotated position when the faceguard is relieved from external force. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A sports helmet comprising: a shell that is wearable over a user's head; and a faceguard that is rotatable horizontally around the shell.
 2. The sports helmet of claim 1, wherein said faceguard encircles said shell.
 3. The sports helmet of claim 2, wherein said faceguard has a circular profile.
 4. The sports helmet of claim 2, wherein at least one guide channel is formed along said shell, and wherein said faceguard is travelable within the guide channel(s).
 5. The sports helmet of claim 1, wherein said shell shields the top, rear and sides of its wearer's head, but substantially not its wearer's face, and wherein said faceguard at least partially shields its wearer's face.
 6. The sports helmet of claim 1, wherein said shell comprises: a crown region that shields the top of its wearer's head; a first side region that shields one non-facial side of its wearer's head; a second side region that shields the other non-facial side of its wearer's head; and wherein said faceguard at least partially shields its wearer's face and is disposed substantially over both shell side regions.
 7. The sports helmet of claim 6, wherein a first guide channel is formed along said first side region and a second guide channel is formed along said second side region, wherein said faceguard travels within the channels when rotating relative to said shell.
 8. The sports helmet of claim 6, wherein said faceguard is spring biased to a centered position in which the circumferential front of said faceguard is laterally centered between said shell side regions, but is rotatable, against that bias, between a leftward position and a rightward position.
 9. A sports helmet comprising: a shell that is wearable over a user's head; and a faceguard that is rotatable circumferentially around the shell. 